


Straitjacket

by Frozenleaf



Series: Lonashipping Tumblr Prompts [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: F/M, Tumblr Prompts, and uh. soul searching?, crossposting from tumblr, more politics than romance oops, wicke being a mother hen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-03
Updated: 2020-03-03
Packaged: 2021-02-22 22:22:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23001322
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frozenleaf/pseuds/Frozenleaf
Summary: The suit fits, but badly. Gladion wonders if it should even fit at all.
Relationships: Gladio | Gladion/Moon
Series: Lonashipping Tumblr Prompts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1653031
Comments: 4
Kudos: 10





	Straitjacket

**Author's Note:**

> crossposting from tumblr because god knows i'll never find my fics there again. original prompt was "Happy Birthday Mr President" so of course I avoided the obvious pop culture reference and do a character deep dive again. i spend most of my time not wanting to post fics here because i have to actually think up titles for them now

The tie looked awkward on him.

Gladion frowned, fingers tugging at his collar as he glanced at himself in the mirror. The man that looked back was unfamiliar to him. A crisp suit of dull gray, his wild-cut hair combed out of his eyes. He looked responsible. Grown-up. Nothing like the 14-year old boy he still felt like, when he watched his mother disappear into a wormhole.

Four years and he'd hoped. Prayed that one day the feeling would fade, that his shoulders would one day be broad enough for the suit he was supposed to wear. The title that was shoved onto him, because his mother was away in Kanto and could barely recognize her own children. A title that was both restrictive and terrifying. That now was his to take, since he was finally a legal adult.

But time had passed and here he was now, in front of his mirror. Time had only gotten rid of the certainty he once had, when his goal was simple and absolute, to stop his mother. Replaced it with vague fears and responsibilities that he tried to shoulder but sometimes felt far too vast for him to contemplate.

"Young Master?"

Wicke was outside his room, her knuckles rapping a familiar pattern against the door. "The board is in the meeting room. You shouldn't keep them waiting."

_Waiting, for what?_ Gladion thought mirthlessly. For the title to be official, like a noose around his neck? It wasn't too late for him to break free, like he once did, out of this place- out of everything that was tying him down. But if he did... where did that leave him? Where did he leave Aether?

"I'll be there," he called back, swallowing the stone in his throat.

"Alright," Wicke's voice echoed back. Uncertain, but reassuring.

He sighed. Took another glance at the man in the mirror. The pokeballs on his belt stood out like a sore thumb, and no matter how nicely combed it was, his hair was jagged and rough. He looked nothing like his mother, or his grandfather. He wasn't polished or fit or ready for this-

Another knock on his door.

"I said I'll be there, Wicke," he said, voice rising.

There was a pause. Then, a soft, familiar voice echoed through the wood.

"I'm not Wicke."

Gladion's stomach lurched. For a brief moment, he considered not responding, hoping that she'd leave and not see him like this. But the thought of leaving her waiting outside his door, when she obviously came to see _him-_

With a soft curse, he tugged the door open, and Moon, Champion of Alola, stood nonchalantly in front of him, arms crossed and an arched brow waiting for him. Four years of friendship, and he was still unable to keep his heart from jumping at the sight of her, the knots in his gut slowly unwinding as he breathed in her steady presence.

"You shouldn't be here," he began.

"Neither should you," she said. "I bumped into Wicke on the way here. She seemed flustered. So do you." She paused, her gaze travelling down the length of his body before returning to his face. "Nice suit, by the way."

He should have felt embarrassed or angry or humiliated or _something_. But instead, all he could say was, "No, it isn't."

Moon frowned.

Gladion sighed. Then, like he did only for her, he let her in.

Moon said nothing as she was ushered through the door, casting a glance over his room. With a start, Gladion realized that were it any other situation, he might have been mortified at the idea of _Moon_ in _his room._ But that brief sensation passed when Moon's serious, gray eyes rested on him once more.

"You know, people usually are happier on their birthday."

"People also usually don't have a lifetime of responsibilities shoved onto them on their birthday," Gladion bit out.

A flicker of understanding lit on Moon's face. All at once, Gladion felt like he was 14 again, his inner turmoil exposed to this girl that was almost a complete stranger. Shame bubbled in his chest, and he broke her gaze. It wasn't fair to Moon- not when she had bore the responsibility for the safety of all Alola ever since she was 12.

"Sorry," he breathed out. "It's not something you should worry about."

Moon chewed her lip. Slowly, she said, "It is, when you're my friend."

Gladion didn't resist when she tugged him towards a nearby chair and all but ordered him to sit. She sat on the edge of his bed, legs crossed and head cradled by her hands, her gray eyes piercing as she regarded him.

"What's wrong?"

Gladion debated deflecting. Ordering Moon out of his room. But this was _Moon._ His confidant. His _friend._

With a deep sigh, he said, "I'm not ready for this."

"This?"

"Being president. Being responsible for all of Aether, being stuck here for the rest of my life- _all_ of this!" He gestured around the room, at the stark white walls and the caged windows. "When I was growing up, _this_ was my prison, Moon. How could I ever _want_ to be here? When the rest of the world is out there?"

Moon frowned. If his yelling otherwise perturbed her, she didn't show it. Instead, she sat back, studying him with those calm gray eyes.

"Then... why don't you leave?" she asked.

He stiffened. "I _can't._ Aether Foundation was dragged through the mud because of Lusamine's insane decisions. The good it was meant to do was tainted, and everything my family wanted to build, a safe place for Pokemon..." He shook his head. "I couldn't leave it like this. Can't leave it like this."

"Can't, or won't?"

Moon's voice was quiet, but sharp. Gladion lifted his head, found himself staring into the depths of her gray eyes.

"What- what are you _talking_ about?" he snarled. "Do you think I _want_ to be here? To wear this suit, looking like my mother's _doll_?"

Moon took in a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling. Her eyes never left his. In spite of his words, she didn't falter when she reached out and grasped his hand in hers. She ran a thumb over his knuckles, her touch calming him. Soothing him.

"Then... leave."

Her words were electric. Her voice serious, the look on her face tense. She meant it, meant it with every fiber of her being.

Gladion stared. "What?"

She frowned, her hand resting on his like a lead weight. "If you really don't want to be here," she said softly, "you can leave. You've done so much for Aether already- Alola respects what you and everyone else here has created. Nobody will fault you for steppng down. If you really want to leave, if this place really is your prison, well..." She quirked a smile. "You've escaped from here before, haven't you?"

He swallowed. What she said echoed the words he'd been thinking, but when Moon said it- with guileless, unjudging eyes and the calm confidence she always carried about her... He'd toyed with the thought of leaving Aether, but if it was really a possibility-

He hesitated.

Moon nodded. "That's not what you're really afraid of, is it?" she asked quietly.

Slowly, Gladion breathed. Searched the tumultuous thoughts that now calmed at her voice. "I don't want to be my mother," he admitted. "Lusamine- she destroyed my grandfather's dream. And... what if I'll be the next one? I don't know anything about being a President-"

"But you do know about caring for Pokemon." Moon's other hand now rested on top of his, her eyes intense as she looked into him. "Gladion, you're... one of the most caring, most stubborn, most reckless people I know. You went up against the world in order to stop your mother. Why should a bunch of old fogeys sitting at a table scare you, when _you_ know what you want Aether to be?"

Realization seeped in like a trickle of water, soft and clear to his thoughts. Still, stubbornly, Gladion jutted his chin and muttered, "Do I?"

Moon arched an eyebrow in response. "Do you?"

He bit his tongue. Resisted the urge to say it, lest it didn't become true.

Then a gentle knock rapped on his door, dragging the world back in focus.

"Gladion, it's been fifteen minutes since the meeting started," Wicke's worried voice began.

"I'm coming!" Gladion called back. He glanced back at Moon, at their intertwined hands.

She smiled, soft and sweet. "Go on then," she said. "Oh, and one more thing."

"What?"

She leaned forward before he could stop her, her lips touching his in a soft, chaste kiss. He scarcely could register what had happened before she was back on her seat, a wicked, knowing smile on her face.

"Happy birthday, Mr President."

Gladion flushed. He wasn't sure what to make of what just happened, didn't know why his heart was bursting and flying all at once. Didn't know why Moon's happy, believing smile made it feel like he could take on the world all over again.

"Gladion!"

"Alright, alright!" He rose from his chair, barely caring about how his tie was probably askew and his suit was probably rumpled from how he'd been sitting on it wrong.

He ran a hand through his hair, tried to calm himself before opening the door.

And when he glanced back, back towards Moon, he knew nothing was going to stop him.

* * *

It could not be said that Gladion was a conventional president. He was never focused on the appearances of being a _President_ , choosing to focus all his efforts into building Aether Paradise. Going out onto the ground to study Pokemon, to spread the word of conservation for the ares that needed it most. He built Aether Foundation back up from the brink through force of will alone, some said, driven by a dedication to cause that he honestly believed in.

A place for the Pokemon he so loved to be safe.

Aether was his home, not his prison. Something he made anew, brought joy to, instead of tying him down to pain. It grew to be a place of many, many happy memories. People and Pokemon, living together side by side.

And sometimes, he would smile underneath the trees in the conservation area, laughing as Moon kissed him senseless once more.


End file.
